Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Chelsea transfer shock: Club refuse to complete £26m defender deal
CHELSEA have had a surprise £26million bid for Roma defender Kostas Manolas rejected, according to reports.
Roma have reportedly rejected a £26m offer from Chelsea for Kostas Manolas
The Blues are understood to be keen on signing centre-half Manolas this summer but were not yet thought to be ready to bid for his services.
Chelsea are likely to lose veteran John Terry at the end of the campaign, while Kurt Zouma's knee injury means Chelsea could sign two centre-backs before the start of next season.
And The Sun claim they have already made an approach to sign Greece international Manolas in a £26m agreement - only to be turned down by the Rome club.
And The Sun add that that figure could even rise as much as £35m for the 24-year-old, who has also been linked with a switch to Juventus.
Manolas joined Roma from Olympiakos in 2014 after the Serie A giants saw off interest from Arsenal to secure the defender.
Arsenal reportedly had a £15m offer rejected last summer after Manolas impressed in his debut season in Italy.